A Peculiar Friendship of Snake and Badger
by jmh1
Summary: The Greek Gods aren't the only weird thing about Percy's family. No. Apparently his mother's family are magical. Apparently his name is technically Perseus Black.
1. Magic?

**A/N: Set after Sea of Monsters and during Prisoner of Azkaban. All characters and major plot lines belong to Rick Riordan and JK Rowling.**

Percy smiled as he walked up the steps to his mom's apartment. He was coming home a couple of days than originally planned, since Thalia's emergence from her pine tree had thrown everyone a bit, and she'd had trouble readjusting. The last she'd known Annabeth had been seven. Now she was fourteen, only eighteen months younger than Thalia, compared to the five year age gap she'd remembered. Getting used to that had been difficult. Not to mention Luke. She'd refused to believe that he'd betrayed them, and it wasn't until Annabeth had broken down in tears and explained everything that had happened the last two years that she accepted it. After that, it had fallen to Percy to help her. Being around Annabeth had been too hard for her first – a constant reminder of the time she had missed out on. As Annabeth had previously predicted, Percy and Thalia had gotten along like a house on fire. And he meant that literally as well as figuratively. They spent almost half their time fighting, and Thalia had once set fire to a corner of the Big House porch with a lightning bolt. But despite that, they had been good friends. In some ways they were the only people the other could talk to, since they were the only children of the Big Three. Knowing you were forbidden by the most sacred of oaths wasn't always easy to deal with, though Percy sure as hell wasn't going to admit that to anyone other than Thalia. They wouldn't understand. Eventually, Thalia had gotten used to the idea of a teenaged-Annabeth, and they'd fallen back into their sister-like friendship. After that, Percy had decided he could go home without feeling bad for Thalia so here he was, two days after his fourteenth birthday, climbing the steps to his mom's apartment, smiling.

His smile fell from his face though when he heard a faint pop behind him, and span around to see an elderly man wearing a pair of colourful curtains. Without even thinking about it, instead of drawing Riptide – not that he really thought this man was a monster, he used the ancient ward against evil he had learned from Grover before he even knew he was a demigod. A three-fingered claw over his heart, before thrusting it toward the old man, causing him to stagger back a couple of steps. Belatedly, Percy realised he was lucky it hadn't had the same effect as it did on Gabe the year before, because the old man would've been thrown in to the wall. He opened his mouth to apologise, but he felt that something wasn't right. Over the last two years, he'd learned to trust his monster sense, but now it was sending him mixed messages.

"Who are you? What do you want?" he said instead, but immediately wanted to apologise again for being rude. He stopped himself though, as he remembered that this man had appeared out of thin air. Definitely not normal.

"Ah," he said, sky blue eyes twinkling. "I am Albus Dumbledore. I'm wondering if perhaps you could assist me. I'm looking for a woman called Sally Jackson; would you happen to know which apartment belongs to her?" He had a British accent.

Percy nodded slowly, slipping his hand into his pocket to grasp Riptide. "What do you want with my mother?" he said, before cursing himself for revealing that little piece of information. The old man was really giving him the creeps. Percy had the feeling he knew exactly which apartment was his mother's.

"Sally Jackson is your mother?" Albus asked, his tone thoughtful, but continued before Percy could respond. "Curious. Anyway, I simply wish discuss something with her, regarding your uncles."

Percy blinked, unable to make sense out of this guy. He knew he had an opportunity to get some idea though. "You know my dad?" he asked.

"Can't say I've ever had the pleasure," Albus replied. "No, the uncles I'm referring to are your mother's brothers."

"My mother doesn't have any brothers," Percy said, pulling Riptide out of his pocket but leaving it in pen form.

The old man hummed. "Maybe I have made a mistake." Percy dismissed the idea immediately. The man maybe old, but he definitely wasn't senile and Percy had no doubt that he knew exactly what he was talking about. "Nevertheless, I would like to have a word anyway, just in case."

Percy and the old man had by now reached the door to his apartment at the end of the hall, though Percy hadn't even realised they had started walking.

"Mom, I'm home!" he called out once he'd unlocked and opened the door, "and there's a man here who wants to talk to you."

His mother emerged from the kitchen, a plate of blue cookies in hand. With a smile, he gave his mum a hug and swiped a cookie from the plate, planning to leave his mom alone to deal with the weird old man, before realising that it might be better if he stayed. Before he could turn back from making his way to his room, however, the old man spoke.

"I believe it may be best if you remained for this discussion, Mr Jackson," he said.

"Uhh, okay sure," he said.

"Mrs Jackson," Albus began, "I am Professor Albus Dumbledore. I wished to speak to you of your brothers, both of whom I once taught."

"You're a teacher," Percy scoffed, "and I'm a son of Zeus." His felt his eyes go wide. "Sorry, I didn't mean to say that, it's just that you're not really like most teachers I've met. And I've met a _lot_ of teachers." There it was again. One second: monster. The next: a sudden urge to apologise for being so rude to a perfectly innocent old man.

His mother shot him a reproachful glance at his outburst, before addressing Professor Dumbledore. "Please, call me Sally," she said. "Though I'm afraid you must be mistaken. I was adopted when I was eleven, but my parents died a few months later and I moved here to New York to live with my adoptive-uncle."

"Hmm, I wonder," Professor Dumbledore muttered. "If you don't mind me asking, Mrs Jackson, what do you remember of your life before you were adopted?"

"Not much to be honest," Percy's mom replied. That was a surprise. She'd never talked much about that time of her life, but Percy just assumed it was because she didn't like to. "I mean, I remember that I lived it, but I couldn't tell you a single fact about my life before my eleventh birthday, if that makes sense."

Percy gave his mom a strange look. What she just described sounded like the Mist. The other kids at Yancy had been like that after Mrs Dodds. They would all swear up and down that Mrs Kerr had been their pre-algebra teacher all year, but they couldn't recall details about what happened in her classes. But that didn't make sense, because his mom was clear-sighted and couldn't be tricked by the mist.

"Do you remember your surname from before your adoption?" Dumbledore asked.

"Yes, I do. It was Black," his mom said, eliciting a smug look from the old professor.

"No wonder he hated her," he said, before turning to Percy. "May I ask where you attend school, Mr Jackson?" he asked.

Percy looked at his mom, feeling bad for her. He'd managed to get himself expelled from Meriwether at the end of the last year. "I don't actually know yet. I got expelled from my last school, Meriwether Prep."

"I managed to get you a place at Long Road Middle School," his mom said kindly.

_Long Road to where? _Percy thought bitterly, _redemption for his sins,maybe._

"Well, in that case, I would like to invite you to attend my school," Professor Dumbledore announced.

Percy managed to hide his laugh in his cough. "I'm not sure you want to do that, Professor," he said. "Meriwether was the seventh school I've been expelled from. I have a tendency to… err, make things explode?" he added hestitantly.

To his surprise, the old man smiled. "All the more reason for you to attend my school." Percy blinked, sure he'd heard wrong. "Tell me," Dumbledore continued, ignoring Percy and his mother's incredulous looks. "Do you believe in magic?"

Percy hesitated. He supposed that the abilities possessed by the gods and their children could be classified as magic, but he certainly couldn't give that away. "Umm… I've never seen anyone do magic, besides the classic card tricks, but I suppose that doesn't necessarily mean that it doesn't exist."

Dumbledore nodded. "A very wise outlook to have young man. Anyway, I am the Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, the same school attended by both of your brothers, Mrs Jackson."

Percy tried and failed to keep a straight face. "Hogwarts? As in warts? On a pig?"

Dumbledore chuckled. "Indeed, there is a legend that one of the founders was led to the location of our school, whilst dreaming, by a hog with warts."

Percy didn't quite know what to say to that. When no response was forthcoming, the old man continued.

"Perhaps I should start with your birth parents, Mrs Jackson. Their names were Orion and Walburga Black, from one of the oldest Pureblood families in England. They had three children. First was the twins, Sirius Black, and yourself, Solaria Black. Two years later, they had another son called Regulus. Your brothers, as expected, were wizards and began to study at Hogwarts when they turned eleven. You, my dear, turned out to be a squib – a person with magical blood who lacked the ability to perform magic. Your parents were Pureblood supremacists, and when you didn't receive a Hogwarts letter on your eleventh birthday, you were disowned, blasted off you family tree and put up for adoption in the muggle world. It seems you were also obliviated, meaning you had your memory altered so you had no recollection of the wizarding world. As an aside, a curious note about wizarding law, any pureblood descendants – and in this case we define pureblood as having all magical great-grandparents – of a disinherited squib will be restored to the family, although this usually goes unnoticed because it's usually generations before the magical trait resurfaces. Nevertheless, it seems that young Perseus has inherited his grandparents ability to perform magic, and since he is has not registered with Ilvermorny, I would like to invite him to come to England to study at Hogwarts."

Percy and his mother just stared at the professor once he finished his spiel, Percy only vaguely aware that he never told the man his name. Regaining his ability to speak, he asked Dumbledore how he'd known he had magic.

The old man's eyes twinkled. "Outside in the hall, you accidentally used magic when I apparated in behind you. And when you mentioned your penchant for blowing up schools, I was sure."

Percy frowned for a moment. Then he remembered the gesture he'd used when the old man had surprised him. "Oh, that," he said. "That was an ancient ward against evil, though it had less of an effect on you that it did on the last person I used it on. Apparently you're less evil than my ex-stepfather. When I did it to him, he flew up the stairs and I never saw him in person again. He died while I was away at a summer camp."

"Personally, I don't believe in the power of gestures such as that to differentiate between good and evil. I suspect that both times you unknowingly sent a blast of magic and the reason I was less affected was simply because I cast a shield charm to protect myself. I must admit though, that it was caught unawares by the force of it. Anyway, I suppose I should tell you what I originally came here to tell you."

"Huh," Percy said. "I'd forgotten you didn't know about me when you arrived."

"Yes, well. I'm afraid I bring some bad news, Mrs Jackson. Around the time your twin brother graduated from Hogwarts at the age of eighteen, magical Britain was in the throes of a war. Your brother bore much hatred toward your parents for their views and the way they treated you, and even ran away from home when he was sixteen. He fought valiantly for the Light against the Dark Lord Voldemort, formerly known as Tom Riddle, but in the end, nearly twelve years ago he betrayed his best friend to Voldemort, who proceeded to kill the man, James Potter, and his wife Lily, who sacrificed her life to protect her one-year-old son. He sacrifice placed a protection over the boy and when Voldemort attempted to kill him, for he was spoken of in a prophecy that foretold his possible death, and his curse backfired, destroying his body but failing to kill him. In the last couple of years Voldemort has attempted to make a comeback, and Sirius has escaped from prison this summer. We believe he intends to finish the job his master started and kill Harry Potter. I came to ensure there were protective wards around your apartment, in case he decides to come after his squib twin, but it seems that, in that regard, my visit here was unnecessary, but not entirely unfruitful."

"So you're telling me that I have an evil twin who may try and kill me, and almost definitely wants to kill a thirteen year old boy who I presume attends the very same school you intend for me to send my son to?" his mom asked.

"I assure you, Mrs Jackson, that Hogwarts is the safest place in magical Britain, aside from Gringotts Bank," Dumbledore responded.

Percy's mom hummed, clearly unconvinced.

"You need not make a decision immediately. The Deputy Headmistress, Professor McGonagall will visit sometime in the next week with Perseus' official invitation to Hogwarts. If you decide to accept, she will accompany him to obtain his supplies for school," Dumbledore said. "If you have any more questions you can ask her. Now, without meaning to be rude, I am rather busy and really should be on my way so I bid you farewell." The old man disappeared with a faint pop.

"Am I related to anyone normal?" Percy sighed and his mom chuckled.

"It seems not, Percy."


	2. Professor McGonagall

**A/N: So, Professor McGonagall will be featured in this chapter and I expect you to imagine her lines being reading by the wonderful Maggie Smith. It was supposed to cover Diagon Alley, but that'll have to wait until the next chapter now. Also, this chapter marks the first edition of 'Spot the Quote'. Some chapters will contain phrases that are directly quoted from the Harry Potter books or films so keep an eye out. I'll reveal the answers at the beginning of each following chapter. This chapter contains 2 quotes.**

"Dad must have protected the apartment somehow," Percy said offhandedly during breakfast a couple of days later.

His mom frowned. "What do you mean, Percy?"

"The old man, Professor Bumblebee. He said he came to put protective wards up, but his visit wasn't necessary. We don't know any wizards, so it must have been a god."

"You want to go to this school in England then," his mom said. It wasn't a question. She knew him too well. She knew what he'd been wanting to say.

"Yeah. I mean. It seems like your brother's going to try to kill this Harry Potter kid first, so if I go, I can stop him before he comes after you," Percy said. "Plus it's magic. Like, real, actual magic. And I can learn how to use it. Think how much easier it will make my life if I can use it to fight monsters."

Of course, it was that moment that a goddess appeared in his kitchen. She appeared in flowing black robes that tailed off into mist.

"Perseus Black," she said. "I am Hecate, Goddess of Magic. Lord Zeus has sent me to give you a warning."

"Oh?"

"The worlds of wizards and demigods cannot become aware of each other. All gods and goddesses took an oath many years ago that no demigod would be born to a witch or wizard. Your father has gotten away with it due to his ignorance of your mother's nature, but his divinity has awoken the magic in your blood. If you ever look as though you are going to reveal the existence of one world to another, not even Poseidon will be able to prevent Zeus from destroying you," Hecate said.

"Umm… okay," Percy said. "I won't tell anyone."

Hecate shrunk to the height of a normal woman, her head had been previously less than an inch from the ceiling. Her robes morphed into a black dress and she smiled. "Good. Now personally, I'm rather excited about all this and I want to give you some advice. You can say that your father is a Pureblood, though it will be best to avoid talking about him at all if possible. Also, your divine nature will make certain aspects of magic come naturally to you."

"So, I'll be able to learn quicker than other people?" Percy asked, curious. His ADHD and dyslexia meant that until now he'd always struggled in class, so the idea that he could do well was certainly welcome.

"Only in the subjects that you feel a connection to. Knowing your father, I suspect that you'll do well in Potions and Transfiguration, though you'll have to work out the connection for yourself."

Percy really wasn't sure what to say so he opted to stay silent. He needn't have worried though, because Hecate began speaking again.

"Ah, your visitor has arrived. Before I leave, Perseus. The wizarding world needs its own hero. You can help him, guide him even. But he has his own fate and his own journey that is set in stone. There is another, however, whose fate remains in the balance. He won't be a hero, but perhaps you can help him be better than he otherwise would be."

There was a knock on the door, and Hecate vanished. Shaking his head to forget the goddess' words for the moment, he went to open the door. Presumably this was the Deputy Headmistress from Hogwarts. Percy couldn't remember your name.

"You must be Perseus Black," she said when he opened the door. "I am Professor McGonagall and I'll be accompanying you to Diagon Alley to purchase your school supplies."

Percy's first thought was that she was wearing a pointy hat. A genuine, stereotypical witch's hat, and he barely managed not to laugh. "I prefer Percy Jackson, but yes. I suppose I am."

"Very good, Mr Jackson, are you ready to leave?" she asked.

"Um, yeah sure," he said. "Mom, the professor's here. I'll see you later," he called out.

"Won't your mother be joining us?" McGonagall asked.

"Nah, she has class today," Percy said.

"She's still in school?"

"More like back in school. She had to drop out when her uncle fell ill and she only recently got enough money to pay for tuition. She's studying creative writing at the local college. She's going to write novels," Percy said. He was glad that his mom was finally living her life for herself and not for him. McGonagall stepped aside so he could exit the apartment. "So, where is this Diagon Alley?" he asked.

"In London."

"Umm… Mom's expecting me back in time for dinner," he said. "Isn't there somewhere in New York we can go?"

"Alas, there are certain items specific to Hogwarts that can't be purchased in America. No matter, Professor Dumbledore has arranged for us to use the fireplace of an old friend of his to travel to London. In fact you may meet one of our other students, a fourth year Hufflepuff called Rolf Scamander," McGonagall said.

"Wait. Did you say we'll travel through a fireplace?" Percy interrupted. "How?"

"Magic, Mr Jackson," the professor replied with a disdainful look. "You do recall being informed that you are a wizard, don't you?"

Percy opened and closed his mouth a couple of times, utterly dumbstruck. He certainly hadn't expected the stern older woman to respond in such a way.

"Do close your mouth, Mr Jackson. You're gaping like a goldfish," she said.

"Sorry, I… it's just… you're a teacher."

"Indeed I am. Is that supposed to preclude me from being possessed of a scathing wit?"

"No, I mean…" Percy said quickly, before stopping and scratching the back of his neck. "It's just that usually when a teacher calls me stupid, they're a bit more direct about it."

Professor McGonagall, who had begun walking toward the stairwell, turned around abruptly and stared sharply at him. "I most certainly am not calling you stupid. I don't know what kind of teachers you have had in the past, but I am first and foremost a source of knowledge and guidance. It is my duty to impart my expertise to students, and I certainly don't expect them to know everything about a subject beforehand. At Hogwarts I will be your Transfiguration professor, but in this moment, the subject at hand is magic in itself. A concept of which you were unaware until just two days ago, so I would not anticipate you to possess the knowledge that it is possible to travel from place to place via fireplace."

Percy hastily apologised, feeling as though he had offended the woman, though she was not quite finished.

"And why ever did any of your previous teachers feel the need to act so unprofessionally?" she added, her thoughts on the matter evident in her tone. She clearly thought it was unacceptable.

"I have ADHD so I have trouble concentrating in lessons and I have dyslexia so I… err… I can't really… umm… read. Not very well anyway. At least not in English," he said, feeling slightly embarrassed.

"So you can read in another language?" the professor asked.

"Yeah. I usually read in Greek. You see, my dad's Greek, and he taught my mom the language who then taught me. Something about staying connected to my roots, even if I never meet him. It's like my brain doesn't recognise the different letters as being actual letters so they don't start having a party?" Percy explained, coming up with what he thought was a reasonable excuse for knowing Greek. It wasn't like he could confess that the first time he heard it, he knew exactly what had been said and never had to actually learn it.

McGonagall hummed, seemingly intrigued, but said nothing. She began to walk again, so Percy followed her downstairs and out onto the street.

"So how does fireplace travel actually work?" Percy asked, feeling uncomfortable with the new silence. He suspected some of the gods could teleport through flames in some way, but he was curious as to how it could be achieved by mortals.

"Good, a curious mind will take you far in your magical studies," McGonagall said. _More like a concern for my health, _Percy thought, but took the compliment. "Fireplaces allow us to access the Floo Network if we use Floo powder. The Floo Network is a form of magical transportation. One need simply say the name of their intended destination and they will appear in a fireplace there."

Percy decided not to comment on the fact that they appeared to have named their transportation system after a disease. "Don't you get burned?" he asked instead. "By the fire, I mean."

"A pertinent question," McGonagall said. Percy snickered, remembering the time that he'd mailed Medusa's head to Olympus and Annabeth had called him impertinent. He didn't contradict the professor, who looked at him unamused before continuing. "Use of Floo powder turns the flames green and heatless."

* * *

Minerva McGonagall pondered the teenaged boy she was leading to the New York residence of Newt Scamander. Perseus Black was certainly very interesting. She just hoped he would not befriend Seamus Finnegan, with whom he shared a particular proclivity for pyrotechnics, if the school records Albus had come by were anything to go by. He also seemed to have a rather quick mind, and she rather feared for the safety of the school should he ever find himself in a room with the Weasley twins. But nonetheless, he showed an innate desire to learn about the world he had so recently found himself to be a part of, a curiosity which she surely hoped would not fade as he came to terms with the reality of his nature. The other matter to consider was that of his father. It was certainly unusual for a squib to have a magical child unless the other parent was magical, a rare relationship in itself. However, Albus had confirmed that neither the British Ministry of Magic nor MACUSA had record of the birth of a Perseus Black or Perseus Jackson, which they surely would had the father been a wizard. The boy had been silent for while once they'd left his apartment building, but Minerva was aware that he was fiddling with a muggle pen.

"So, what will I study at Hogwarts?" he asked suddenly, the words spilling from his lips rather quickly, as though he'd been trying to hold the question in.

"Well, since you are fourteen, you would ordinarily be in your fourth year, but since students sbegin studying electives in their third year, Professor Dumbledore and I thought that it would be best for you to start in that year. You will be required to take seven core classes, the first of which, Transfiguration is taught by myself. Transfiguration is the art of changing the form and appearance of an object or person. Charms, the practice of adding or changing the properties of an object, such as its colour, will be taught to you by Professor Flitwick. Potions and History of Magic, which I'm sure need no explanation are taught by Professors Snape and Binns, respectively, and Defence Against the Dark Arts, which teaches magical self-defence is being taught by Professor Lupin this year. Your final two core classes are Astronomy, the study of the stars, with Professor Sinistra and Herbology, the study of magical plants, with Professor Sprout," Minerva explained.

"Wow, that's a lot," Perseus said.

"I haven't finished yet, Mr Jackson," Minerva said. It seemed lessons and Perseus Black didn't particularly get along. "You will also be choosing at least two electives from the five we have available. The first of these is Arithmancy, the study of the magical properties of numbers, including their use in predicting the future."

"No, absolutely not. I want nothing to do with the future in anyway," Perseus said quickly.

Minerva raised an eyebrow as she felt her lips twitch in amusement. Perseus was one student whose name would not go on the list of those who take Divination because it is an easy subject. "Is that so?" she said, and Perseus nodded vigorously. She wondered what it was that he had against the future. "Well in that case it would seem that Divination is also not the subject for you. That leaves Muggle Studies with Professor Burbage – though as you have been raised in the muggle world I would be most disappointed if you chose this as one of your two, though it would be acceptable as a third if you felt so inclined – Care of Magical Creatures with Professor Hagrid – the content is self-explanatory I am sure – and the Study of Ancient Runes. Professor Babbling will teach you about the methods of writing wizardkind used hundreds, even thousands of years ago, Ancient Greek scripts included."

"So basically you're saying that if I refuse to study anything relating to the future, then I have to take Care of Magical Creatures and Study of Ancient Runes?" Perseus said.

"Not necessarily. I cannot prevent you from choosing Muggle Studies as one of your two electives," Minerva said, curious as to what his response would be.

"Yeah, but you seem kind of scary so I don't want to disappoint you if I can help it. Besides, I'm not really sure that I'd be able to sit and listen to a wizard talk about muggles. The other two sound interesting anyway, so I'm not too bothered. How am I going to catch up on the core classes? Everyone's going to be two years more teaching than me."

"We have arranged for you to receive tutoring from a sixth year student in your house," Minerva said.

"My house? What does that mean?" Perseus asked.

"Your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory and spend free time in your house common room. We have Gryffindor for the brave and daring, Hufflepuff for the loyal and hard-working, Ravenclaw for the intelligent and creative, and Slytherin for the ambitious and cunning. You will be sorted into your house at the welcome feast on September 1st," Minerva said.

"You were a Gryffindor," Perseus said, and Minerva looked at him questioningly. The teenager shrugged, "when you talked about Gryffindor you sounded proud. You also didn't seem particularly fond of Slytherin."

Minerva considered him for a moment. It seemed that he was much more observant than she had initially given him credit for. "That is correct. Gryffindors and Slytherins have a rivalry dating all the way back to the Founders of our school, but I will leave the specifics for your History of Magic professor."

* * *

After walking for twenty minutes, Professor McGonagall came to a stop outside a townhouse. Whoever this friend of Professor Dumbledore was, they must have been seriously loaded, because they were in a nice part of Manhattan. She knocked three times, and a boy, about his own age with red-brown hair opened it. Presumably Rolf Scamander.

"Professor McGonagall?" he said, confusion clear in his voice. "What are you doing here?"

A man, seemingly older than McGonagall but younger than Dumbledore appeared. "Ah, Minerva, you're here. Sorry Rolf, I forgot to tell you we'd be having visitors. Please do come in," he said.

"Thank you, Newton. And thank you also for allowing us to use your fireplace. You see, Mr Black here lives in an apartment block and doesn't have one. Mr Scamander, I would like to introduce you to Perseus Black, though he told me he prefers Percy Jackson. He'll be joining us in third year in September."

Rolf held out his hand for Percy to shake. "Hi, I'm Rolf Scamander," he said.

Percy took the outstretched hand. "Percy," he said.

"Right, now that the two of you are acquainted, Mr Black and I must be getting to Diagon Alley, if you don't mind Newton."

"Not at all, Minerva. We'll see you when you bring Percy back to New York," the old man, Newton, said.

"Indeed, thank you again. Come along now, Mr Jackson, it must be afternoon in London by now, and we have lots to purchase," McGonagall said, leading the way to a large front room. She took a handful of powder from a bowl by the fireplace, which she then stepped into. "You'll need to take a handful of Floo powder, step into the fireplace and throw the powder at your feet. Then say 'Leaky Cauldron', and you'll be taken to your destination. Like so." McGonagall finished the process she had described. Green flames leapt up, and she disappeared.

Percy hesitantly took a handful of the same powder.

"Don't worry too much," Rolf Scamander said. "Just make sure you say 'Leaky Cauldron' clearly and you'll be fine. It's really quite easy."

"Why do I say 'Leaky Cauldron'?" Percy asked, wondering whether it was some kind of activation phrase, but then how would the fireplace know where you wanted to go?

Rolf smiled. "The Leaky Cauldron is a pub in London that acts as an entrance to Diagon Alley. It's the name of your destination. When you come back here you'll say this address."

Percy smiled his thanks as he stepped in to the fireplace. He threw the powder at his feet, flinching as the green flames came to life once more, and said "Leaky Cauldron."

**A/N: I hope that I managed to capture the essence of the absolute queen that is Minerva McGonagall. The next chapter will feature Diagon Alley and Draco Malfoy.**

**Please review and comment your answers for 'Spot the Quote'**


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